COMMANDERS:

Oberstgruppenführer Paul Hausser.............................(19/10/39-14/10/41)

Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich............................(14/10/41-31/12/41)

Obergruppenführer Matthias Kleinheisterkamp............(31/12/41-19/4/42)

Obergruppenführer George Keppler................................(19/4/42-10/2/43)

Brigadeführer Hebert-Ernst Vahl.....................................(10/2/43-18/3/43)

Oberführer Kurt Brasack.................................................(18/3/43-29/3/43)

Obergruppenführer Walter Krüger................................(29/3/43-23/10/43)

Gruppenführer Heinz Lammerding.................................(23/10/43-24/7/44)

Standartenführer Christian Tychsen................................(24/7/44-28/7/44)

Brigadeführer Otto Baum...............................................(24/7/44-23/10/44)

Gruppenführer Heinz Lammerding.................................(23/10/44-20/1/45)

Standartenführer Karl Kreutz...........................................(20/1/45-20/1/45)

Gruppenführer Werner Ostnedorff...................................(20/1/45-9/3/45)

Standartenführer Rudolf Lehmann..................................(9/3/45-13/4/45)

Standartenführer Karl Kreutz.........................................(13/4/45-8/5/45)

Along with Wiking, this division had a most fearsome combat reputation seeing action on nearly all the major engagements during W.W.II. It performed extremely well under some of the most capable and energetic commanders Germany has ever produced. Men like Paul Hausser who was instrumental in the formation of the Waffen SS and commanded the division through the early campaigns, Fritz Klingenberg, Werner Ostendorff and Otto Weidinger were most capable commanders who were instrumental in the successes of this division. On the Eastern Front it gained a fearsome reputation and Red Army commanders could not help but be impressed by the division's performance, taking part in the advance onto Moscow and the ensuing defensive battles, the recapture of Kharkov and the monumental clash at Kursk. It also fought in the West where it clashed with Allied forces and later fought in the unsuccessful offensives in the Ardennes and Budapest.Logically, this division should have been numbered 1, because it was the first SS division to be created. But when the Liebstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler" regiment became a division, that bodyguard formation took the premier number. The genesis of the 2nd SS Division was the Nazi party's need to have absolutely loyal political formations available to support the national police forces in the event of a revolution against Hitler's government. It's origins are based on a the formation of the SS Standarte "Deutschland" which was created from a Bavarian Allgemeine SS police unit. The second Standarte "Germania" was formed in August the following year under the command of Wilhelm Bittrich and a third-the "Der Führer" was formed in Vienna in March 1938. "Deutschland" and "Germania" were eventually expanded into regimental size with three battalions apiece after service with the SS-VT. The SS-VT had it's own General staff under the overall command of Paul Hausser. Thus was created in October 1939 the motorized SS Verfügungs Division, concentrating paramilitary police units of the SS. Even before this small units of all three Standarten took place in the invasion of Poland with Deutschland as part of Kampfgruppe Kempf, Germania as part of 14th Army and the rest as part of 3rd Army.

After the Polish campaign these units were sent back to East Prussia to be formed into a fully fledged division with heavy weapons, artillery, mortar, machine gun, anti-tank, motorcycle reconnaissance troops, signals and combat engineer units, plus supporting troops (ie medical, clerks, cooks etc.)

The new division took part in the invasion of Holland and under the command of 10th Korps HQ and the Deutschland performed extremely well. The division was withdrawn and marched through to Belgium and took part in the battle of Arras as part of von Kliest armoured Panzergruppe and came up against fierce British tank attacks which for the SS Division at this time was a one sided affair as they were not equipped with tanks at this time. However they overcame this offset and prevented the Allies from breaking out to the west from Belgium. Their last battle of the campaign took place at the Maginot Line where they engaged French troops trying to escape from the fortress.

Soldaten van de Standarte Deutschland tijdens een rustperiode in de invasie van Holland

Another period of rest followed which saw the Germania regiment transferred to other SS units made up from ethnic Germans of the occupied territories which would eventually form the Wiking division. The SS-VT was reinforced with a battalion from the Totenkopf division and renamed Deutschland which to avoid any confusion with the army's Grossdeutschland division was changed to "Reich".

The division's next campaign was in Yugoslavia where Hauptsturmführer Klingenberg successfully captured Belgrade almost single handedly by means of a bluff forcing the mayor to hand over the city. After a short rest in Linz in Austria the division was sent to Poland to take part in the invasion of Russia as part of Guderians 2nd Panzergruppe in von Bock's Armygroup centre.

Das Reich in de Balkan

On the day of the invasion Das Reich division had now been given a battalion of Sturmgeschutz assault guns and had combined with 10th Panzer Division, and elements of the Grossdeutschland regiment to form 2nd Panzergruppe. It took part in several successful engagements such as the encirclement of Soviet troops in the Bialystock Pocket, the capture of Gorki and of Yelna where they knocked out fifty Russian tanks and took 1,100 prisoners. Russian resistance was gradually getting more resolute and Guderian's 2nd Panzer gruppe was ordered south-west to Gomel where 2nd Army under Hoth was about to undertake a vast encirclement of Soviet troops. On the way an important communications centre at Roslavl had to be captured to free up much needed reinforcements which, when captured yielded up four Russian divisions however at this time Reich, involved in defensive fighting on the Yenlya salient was facing 11 divisions including two armoured and was eventually withdrawn for refit and rest south-east of Smolensk, eventually being recalled one month later.

In early September 1941 Reich captured the town of Romny but on the 18th the Russians counterattacked with two fresh divisions and air support in an attempt to win back lost ground but Reich held firm for five days and went on to link up with 4th Panzer Division on a new offensive. Later that month in it went on to take part in the capture of the Kiev pocket and when the city was eventually taken on the 26th Guderian's 2nd Panzergruppe captured five Russian Armies. Reich's next assignment was to spearhead ( along with Grossdeutschland and four other Panzer Divisions) the attack on Moscow. On 6th October Reich cut the Smolensk Moscow road and completed the encirclement of the capital city, but the weather had changed and the temperature dropped remorselessly. The Deutschland regiment captured Gzhatsk on 9th October along with two other villages which were captured by the Der Führer regiment but Soviet reinforcements complete with air support held up the advance for the next two days with Der Führer suffering heavy casualties.

Das Reich tijdens operatie Barbarossa

The next few days saw heavy fighting around Mozhaisk and the village of Shulvelo was captured on the 12th October in the face of the retreating Soviet army , but Soviet reinforcements were rushed in and held the line around Mozhaisk. Bitter fighting ensued and more territory was taken by Der Führer including the village of Artemki and Borodino (which was the site of one of the bitterest battles of the Napoleonic Wars) and the important cross-roads southwest of Mozhaisk. Reich advanced nearer towards Moscow but a surprise attack by Mongolian troops halted them suddenly but the SS troops fought back tenaciously in freezing conditions and took Mikhailovskya, Grachevo and Pushkino but ground to a halt in front of Borosivo until support arrived and it was taken.

During the previous three weeks the Reich division had lost almost 7,000 killed, wounded and missing. By mid November the ground which had previously been a mud bath had frozen hard enough to support the weight of tanks but the freezing weather had brought most vehicles to a standstill with engines cracking and fuel freezing solid in its tanks. The offensive on Moscow had stopped dead in its tracks and it was obvious it would go no further. In December Zhukov launched a counterattack and re-captured all the important objectives taken by the Germans and forced them onto the defensive. Reich lost a further 4,000 men and in March 1942 were sent to France for refitting as a Panzer Grenadier division. Some regiments remained in Russia under the command of Werner Ostendorff.

In France the division was rechristened "Das Reich" and came under the command of Gruppenführer Geog Keppler and the "Langemark" division took part in an attempt to prevent the scuttling of the French Fleet in Toulon in November. The newly equipped panzer division, along with 1st and 3rd SS Panzer Divisions was sent back to Russia in January 1943 as part of Army Group South (Don). After advancing into Kharkov the new SS Panzer Korps under the command of Paul Hausser were almost encircled by Soviet troops, to which Hitler replied "Hold at all costs!" but Hausser had other ideas and withdrew from Kharkov, openly defying the Fuhrer's orders. Das Reich marched 60 miles to close the gap in the German lines and draw the Russians into a trap. This was all part of the brilliant strategist General von Manstein's plan to entrap the Russian forces. SS Panzer Korps counterattacked and after five days of bitter fighting the city fell to the Germans.

This action at Kharkov stabilised the front but created the huge salient at Kursk which would have to be eliminated if any further advances were to be made. Operation Citadel took place on 4th July after many postponements which gave the Soviets time to lay extensive minefields and antitank ditches which would hamper the German advance. Das Reich, as part of SS Panzer Korps were incorporated into 4th Panzer Army in the southern sector of the salient. Now equipped with the new Panther and Tiger tanks, the SS Panzer Korps made good progress and on the next day made their way to Prokhorovka albeit more slowly and on the 6th rain delayed the advance even more. By the 7th the SS Panzer Korps' compliment of 200 Panther tanks had been reduced to 40 due to mechanical breakdown and the tendency for them to burst into flames when hit. The 8th and 9th July saw hardly any progress and on the 10th the Soviets counterattacked. On the 12th the largest tank battle in history ( with the possible exception of the Arab-Israeli wars) took place between 700 tanks of SS Panzer Korps and 850 Soviet T-34's, and KV1's. After intense fighting the Soviets withdrew but German losses were heavy with 300 tanks being destroyed and now they lacked the strength to carry on the offensive.

Panzer IV of the 2./SS Panzer Division "Das Reich"

The next three months were marked by withdrawals and although Das Reich fought many delaying battles they had to pull back under the weight of Soviet strength. In December they were sent back to East Prussia for refitting. In January 1944, the division was posted to Montauban in southern France to be re-formed after the heavy losses it had incurred. Between March 1944 and D-day it lost one hundred men killed or kidnapped and as many wounded in partisan attacks. On 6 June, "Das Reich" Division was brought to alarm status. Because its nits had not yet received their full quota of vehicles, they commandeered civilian trucks to increase their mobility. The divisional order of battle was a panzer regiment, two panzer grenadier regiments "Der Führer" and "Deutschland" an artillery regiment, motorcycle and armoured car battalions and the usual supporting services. Its strength as of 1 June 1944 was 20,184 men.

The first elements of "Das Reich" began their march from Toulouse in southern France to the invasion area on 7 June. Two things connected with that movement are notable. One is the "retaliatory measure" (Vergeltungsmassnahme) taken by one of its units against the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in reprisal for partisan activity. Over six hundred French civilians were killed. The second was the belief that partisan attacks played a significant part in delaying the division's advance and thus prevented its early participation in the eachhead battle. Otto Weidinger's history of "Das Reich" Division refutes this, pointing out that it went into the army reserve when it finally reached Normandy implying that there was not the urgency that was claimed.

The first elements of the division reached the concentration area south of Domfront, having lost sixteen trucks to attacks by Allied fighter bombers. Although "Das Reich" had still not completed its grouping by 18 June, some of its units were detached to support neighbouring formations, particularly the 3rd Parachute Division and the army's 2nd Panzer Division. The 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich", therefore, did not operate as a complete formation in the Normandy fighting between 6 and 18 June. In July a battle group action was fought at Saint-Lô, and in the first week of August, the division participated in the German counteroffensive at Mortain. Later that month it played a prominent part in mounting counterattacks to hold open the shoulders of the collapsing Falaise pocket so as to allow the trapped German units to escape across the Seine.

Panther ausf A van de  I./SS-Pz.Rgt 2 vernietigd in Sainteny.

Panzer IV's van de 2./SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" ten westen van St-Lo

"Das Reich" participated in the Ardennes Offensive as part of Dietrich's 6th Panzer Army but on 19th December 1944 was transferred to Manteuffels 5th Panzer Army and fought the American 82nd Airborne at St. Vith and after the advance was held up at Bastogne by 101st Airborne US reinforcements cut the division off and many prisoners were taken. They were hurriedly refitted and took part in Operation Spring Awakening in Hungary where it retreated into Austria, defending Vienna until 15th April 1945. The end of the war saw remnants of the division serving in Czechoslovakia where it surrendered to the Americans.

It was during the 1941-1942 winter battles around Moscow that the division demonstrated fighting qualities that raised it to the status of an elite unit. Those qualities were the product of the tough, realistic methods of battle training designed by Felix Steiner, first commander of the division's "Deutschland" regiment. His method of teaching and the standards he demanded inculcated all ranks with such a ruthless and aggressive spirit that a small unit of Steiner-trained men was considered equivalent in fighting power to a much larger-sized standard formation. Small wonder then that units of Das Reich Division were frequently detached from the main body and employed as battle groups to support a defence that was wavering or to spearhead a crucial offensive. As a consequence the 2nd SS Division was seldom able to fight as a complete body.

Its officers took Steiner's concepts with them when they were posted to other divisions, so that by 1944, most Waffen SS units fought according to those principles. Several officers of Das Reich went on to attain high-ranking positions in the Waffen SS. Two became army commanders, several rose to lead corps, and others either led "Das Reich" or some other SS division. The division commander, Heinz Lammerding, was chief of staff of Army Group "Vistula" in 1945. At a lower level the division included men of such outstanding fighting ability as the tank ace Ernst Barkmann.

MAIN COMBAT UNITS:

PANZER GRENADIER REGIMENT No.3 "Der Führer"

PANZER GRENADIER REGIMENT No.4 "Deutschland"

PANZER REGIMENT No.2

ARTILLERIE REGIMENT No.2

The divisions emblem was based on the "wolfshook" or "wolfsangel" which was also adopted by the Landstorm Nederland Division and was a Nordic rune which was said to posses magical powers which could ward off wolves. It was adopted in the 15th century by peasants in their revolt against the mercenaries employed by the German princes, therefore representing liberty and independence although it was also known as the 'Zeichen der Willkür' or 'badge of wanton tyranny' during the Thirty Years' War It then became a heraldic symbol representing a wolf trap, and as such appeared, and still features, on the coat-of-arms of the city of Wolfstein.

TOTAL NUMBER OF KNIGHTS CROSSES WON BY THIS DIVISION: 72

(This was the highest amount won by any Waffen SS division)

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